Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Thu 8.10.09, Afternoon
12:01 PM Etzion DCL: we arrived at noon. The DCL was deserted. There was a soldier in the reception window and he was courteous, asked whether we had come this time to care for them, because there were no people and it's Thursday, and maybe they will be released earlier.
Somebody came out with a request for a permit to accompany a cancer patient. The applicant is the patient's uncle and he said they told him to wait. Ravy told me that the man had been told to go home. He has no permit because there are permits for the patient's mother and father, received a few days ago.
The young man tried to explain to me why he must have a permit for the uncle, and I tried to say that I have no way to help him. I gave him the phone number of Doctors for Human Rights – perhaps they would have more success. When we checked, we found that we had given him their fax number, but we couldn't find him.
Bethlehem – Checkpoint 300: at the Bethlehem Checkpoint there was nothing to report.
Closure.
This is the last weekday before the end of the current festival period, until the next festival, until the next closure.
On Sunday, inshallah, life will return to its regular course, and there will again be pressure at the DCL after a week in which they only dealt with special cases.
Bethlehem (300)
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Located adjacent to the Separation Wall ("Jerusalem Wrap") at the north entrance to Bethlehem, this checkpoint cuts off Bethlehem and the entire West Bank from East Jerusalem, with all the serious implications for health services, trade, education, work and the fabric of life. The checkpoint is manned by the Border police and private security companies. It is an extensive infrastructure barrier and is designated as a border terminal, open 24 hours a day for foreign tourists. Israeli passport holders are not allowed to pass to Bethlehem, and Palestinian residents are not allowed to enter Jerusalem, except those with entry permits to Israel and East Jerusalem residents. Israeli buses are allowed to travel to Bethlehem only through this checkpoint.The checkpoint, which demonstrated harsh conditions of crowding and extreme passage delays for years, started employing advanced electronic identification posts and has upgraded its gates' system as of the middle of 2019 - and conditions improved.Adjacent to the checkpoint, in an enclosure between high walls and another passage, is the historic Rachel's Tomb, which is now embedded within a concrete fortified building. It contains prayer and study complexes for Jews only, as well as a residential complex. updated November 2019 .
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Etzion DCO
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serves residents of Bethlehem and surrounding villages who need magnetic cards, work permits for Israel, permits for one-time entry for religious or health reasons, various police permits, etc.
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